Holistic leadership strategy will bring businesses out of recession, say experts from Ipso Consulting following the recent announcement from Standard & Poor that GDP growth is due to remain stagnant in 2013.
Organisations will not only be able to survive, but also witness long term growth in the years ahead if they adopt a collective leadership strategy focused on the company as a whole rather than a handful of individuals, according to Ipso.
This strategy, developed by Ipso consultants, is referred to as ‘leadership branding’. Leadership branding is a unique approach which brings a cohesive HR and Marketing focus to communicating what collectively leaders are known for both within the organisation and outside the organisation with their customers.
Typical methods of leadership development have focused on analysing an individual’s leadership skills and then striving to improve them, whereas the new approach to leadership ought to be driven by the demands and attitudes of the customer, according to Naheed Mirza, Managing Director of Ipso Consulting and thought leader in organisational development for a range of businesses from start-ups to blue-chip, FTSE 100 corporations.
Mirza calls for greater unity between the HR and Marketing functions of a business in this process, stating that disjointedness between the two is largely to blame for the ineffectiveness of a large number of branding and leadership initiatives because they work in isolation, and more often than not, the leadership behaviours don’t deliver on the brand ‘promise’ that both customers and employees expect.
Mirza says:
‘The power of collective leadership is based on the integration of organisational brand, typically the domain of the Marketing function, and leadership strategy which is usually designated HR territory.
It is becoming crucial now, in these increasingly challenging times for companies to be clear about what differentiates them from their competitors; clarity around this has to stem from the leadership of an organisation and therefore the formation of one, coherent strategy that connects both branding and leadership, reflecting the needs of customers is even more vital.
Those organisations that truly recognise this will be the ones most likely to meet and exceed customer expectations and achieve business growth.”
